Carl Jung once said, “Through pride we are ever deceiving ourselves. But deep down below the surface of the average conscience a still, small voice says to us (something is out of tune) “.
The avalanche of bad news continues. The violence in the Middle East is spinning out of control. Chaos has engulfed Iraq, Gaza and the West Bank. Unarmed civilians are being kidnapped and beheaded. Bombs, rockets and sophisticated weapons daily claim tens of innocent lives. Doubt is growing that the war on terrorism has made the world a safer place.
The tide of hatred and the death toll are on the rise. The ruthless dictator of Iraq was discovered in a hole in the ground, yet his arrest and the death of his two cruel sons did not bring the country the stability, the security without which democracy and peace cannot be established.
We want to believe that the road map is alive and kicking, but mounting evidence indicates that it is dead and awaiting burial.
Should we not call a spade a spade and admit that our world is “out of tune” and that peace, freedom and democracy are not on the march?
If we want to exit from the dark tunnel we entered three years ago, we should be true to ourselves and true to the world. Instead of allowing our energy, our wealth and our children to disappear in a vicious cycle of endless revenge, we should bury our hatchets, unite and direct our efforts toward the identification and elimination of the true causes of hatred and mistrust in our world. Instead of exchanging blame for the mess we in or sending each other meaningless, polite messages of condolences after the death of loved ones, we should locate and destroy the devils who set us against each other.
Condoning occupations, blessing aggressions, accepting collateral punishment and turning a blind eye to illegal annexations of lands make the world more dangerous. Lumping terrorists and freedom fighters in one basket and putting innocent suspects behind bars feed terrorism. Blaming religions, civilizations and cultures for the increasing terrorism promotes resentment and empowers the terrorists.
No faith preaches barbarism. No civilization condones the demolition of homes and the slaughter of innocent civilians. No culture accepts the beheading of hostages, the killing of children, the rape of women or the torture of prisoners.
Abraham Lincoln once said, “To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of us all”
Are we all cowards?
We have maintained a daunting silence in the face of mounting injustice. We have delayed in waging war against cruel poverty and painful cruelty.
We allow historical cities to be destroyed and museums to be looted. We do not object to the assassination of freedom fighters (dubbed terrorists) with the technology that has not yet succeeded in locating Bin Laden, Al-Zawahri and Al-Zarqawi.
Have we grown too accustomed to the sad news from the Middle East or too used to the cries of the tortured, the wailing of the bereaved and the screams of the injured to lend a helping hand and to raise our voices in protest against cruelty and injustice?
Why do we turn our eyes away from the tortured, the unjustly imprisoned, the orphaned and the traumatized?
Why, living in violence-free zones, we hear children call their parents “father” and “mother”, and do not stop to think of children in war-torn regions, injured, killed or orphaned by sophisticated weapons and land mines?
Do we ever remember the tiny creatures whose childhood has been destroyed by rockets, missiles and bombs, when we shop toys for our children?
Do we remember the homeless victims of collateral damage, civil wars and ethnic-cleansing who roast in summer and freeze in winter, when we relax in air-conditioned rooms and sleep in comfortable beds?
Do we ever think of the starved and the thirsty, when we shop in well-stocked supermarkets, or when we dine at home or in restaurants?
Do we remember the unfortunate creatures that are daily injured by bullets and weapons, when we visit hospitals or see a doctor for a minor ailment, or when we are surrounded and protected by heavily armed, well-trained bodyguards?
Saddam Hussein was pulled out of a hole in the ground and will soon be brought to justice.
For justice to prevail, we need to pull international laws and human rights out of the grave in which they are buried.
Iraq may be rescued, before it falls prey to a vicious civil war. The Palestinian-Israeli problem may one day be solved by a generation more sensible, more sensitive and more compassionate than ours. The victims of our madness may one day forgive their oppressors, but history will not forgive the cruel who torture and rape and the mighty and the powerful who hesitate to use their weight and their influence to bring peace and justice to our world and to restore stability and security to our lives.
Eleanor Roosevelt asked many years ago: “When will our conscience grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?” This question is waiting for our reply.
